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Yankees go for sweep of Athletics

Jul 20, 2008 - 2:32 PM Oakland (51-46) at NY Yankees (52-45), 1:05 p.m. EDT

BRONX, New York (Ticker) -- The New York Yankees look to win their seventh straight home game and complete a three-game sweep of the Oakland Athletics when the teams meet in the series finale Sunday.

New York left 21 runners on base Saturday but managed to pull out a 4-3 victory when Jose Molina was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the bottom of the 12th inning. New York left two men on in each of the first six frames.

The Yankees' offense, which has been inconsistent for much of the season, will have to be at the top of its game Sunday against Oakland starter Justin Duchscherer (10-5, 1.82 ERA).

The All-Star righthander has the lowest earned-run average in the majors and has allowed two runs or less in 10 straight starts. He shut down the Yankees on June 11, allowing one run over seven innings to earn the win.

Duchscherer did not factor in the decision in his last outing, allowing two runs and five hits in 7 2/3 innings against Anaheim on July 13.

New York will counter with Andy Pettitte (10-7, 4.03), who has lost two of his last three starts following a personal four-game winning streak. He allowed four runs and eight hits over six innings during New York's 4-1 loss to Toronto on July 13.